Obligatory Beach Episode
by sarcasticallydelicious
Summary: The champions make use of those pool party skins. Leona/Diana, Fluff
1. Sunburn

Diana hated the beach. The sand, sea, and sun were apparently draws for the rest of them, but to Diana they were a trio of threats and nuisances. The sand worked its way under her swimsuit and into every joint, mixing with her sweat and rasping at her with every breath and movement. The salt air bit at her dry lips and left her throat raw and aching. And even protected as she was from the sun, shaded by an umbrella and a hat and a pair of dark glasses, she had to be careful where she looked or the brightness would sear her eyes. She thanked the Moon for sunscreen. It bought her an extra hour outside before her skin shriveled up and died.

On top of that, the sand got in her books. She apologized mentally to the Institute's librarian, but she needed them with her to keep her sane.

Leona didn't seem to share her preferences. The sun champion shone in her deity's light. She flitted between the other, more appreciative party goers, bare limbs soaking up the sun. One moment she chatted with the crocodile in the lifeguard seat, the next she played volleyball with the Supports. Then she ate ice cream with that boorish Rakkor, who apparently thought a helmet and swim trunks were appropriate beach attire, before going for a swim with the mermaid and a pair of Yordles.

It was strange seeing her that bare. Her usual attire covered everything below the neck, and her armor made her look like a linebacker.

And now she was coming over. Diana embraced her sudden interest in the volleyball game, with… the blond kid with the things on his cheeks, that gem obsessed moron, and the annoying bubbly blonde against people she didn't even to pretend to recognize.

Leona sat down next her, just outside her oasis of shade. The sunlight caressed every curve of her musculature, but also highlighted the numerous scars of various sizes scattered on her otherwise smooth skin. Even clad in her casual getup, it was impossible to not see her as a warrior as well as a woman.

"I didn't expect to see you here," her enemy said nonchalantly. "I didn't think beach parties were your thing."

Diana pointedly stared at the game. Gem man dove for the ball, sliding in the sand and sending a wave of it flying in his wake. She smirked. That would chafe inside his suit something fierce.

"You mean these barely disguised sun-praising ceremonies? They're not." Her enemy didn't react to her gibe, so she continued. "But it's even hotter inside."

"Have you been enjoying yourself at least? Is this your first time at the beach?"

Diana glared. "Just because I spent my entire life locked up on the peak of a mountain doesn't mean I've never been to the beach."

"It is, isn't it?" Leona's eyes sparkled. "Don't look like that; I've only been here once before myself."

Diana hid her surprise easily with her annoyance at being so transparent. She wouldn't have guessed it, from her nemesis's easy movements.

She didn't respond, and Leona didn't say any more. Diana glanced at her surreptitiously; shouldn't she be leaving? Surely any of the apparently appealing activities their fellow champions engaged in would be more interesting than sitting silently next to Diana.

A breeze blew in off the water. It might have been welcome for how it cut through the afternoon heat, but it decided to also blast salt and sand into her eyes. Diana lay flat and pulled her hat down to shield herself. She glared at her rival, sitting calmly in the sun, eyes closed, and enjoying the cool air.

The minor sandstorm died down, and Diana propped herself back up on her elbows. The volleyball game had unfortunately ended, likely so the participants could break to get the mountains of sand out of their suits. Unfortunately it gave Diana nothing to focus on besides how awkward this was.

And it was so awkward. She couldn't take it anymore.

"…do you want to hear a joke?"

Leona smiled. "What's it about?"

Had the insufferable woman been sitting there waiting for Diana to talk to her? Well, it was too late; this joke had been bouncing around in her head since she got here, and she was going to tell it to someone, dammit.

"It's about the beach. Do you want to hear it or not?"

Leona stretched, infuriating smile still plastered on her face. "Of course. Go on."

Diana sat up. She adjusted her hat, then asked, "What happens when you stay out in the sun too long?"

"You get sunburn?"

"Right!" Diana leaned forward, trying to contain herself long enough to get through the joke. "And what happens when you stay out in the moon too long?"

Her enemy looked confused. "Um… I don't know. What?"

"You get nothing! Which is better than sunburn!"

Diana roared with laughter, drawing the bewildered gazes of their neighbors and a smile that Leona hid behind her hand.

When Diana finally got her guffaws under control, she tilted her head to look at Leona.

"You're the only other person who laughs at my jokes." Her tone came out more suspicious and accusing than she felt.

The glint stayed in Leona's eyes. "Unfortunately, I can't claim that honor. I don't understand them at all."

Diana tried not to sound disappointed. "Then why were you laughing?"

Leona beamed. "You just light up when you tell one, and I get swept along, that's all."

Diana shifted, burrowing lower into the sand with her towel. She didn't know how to react to that and needed to say something, anything, to break the…whatever this was.

"It's unfair, though." Diana blurted out. "That the sun is so much more revered, but the moon doesn't punish you for sitting out in it too long." Why couldn't she stop talking? "It would only be right if the moon could do something similar. Like…moonfrost or something."

Leona laughed again, and Diana felt herself going red.

"But isn't it nice that you can go out at night without having to worry? Stargazing would be much harder with moonfrost."

Diana couldn't tell whether or not she was being serious. Mainly she was simply glad the other woman wasn't staring at her like she had two heads.

Whoops erupted from a large gathering of umbrellas a little ways from them that housed half a dozen of their fellow champions.

"Why are you even here talking to me and ruining your day at the beach? All I've met you with is blades and vitriol and you just keep coming back for more." She glanced pointedly at the Solari attendants, camped out with Leona's belongings, then again when Leona didn't follow her gaze.

Leona's tone was light, but this time didn't reach her eyes. "No, they'd prefer our only interactions were with blade in hand. You're more interesting than you give yourself credit for." She smiled for real this time, and continued. "Besides, you've expanded my vocabulary by quite a bit. We never used words like 'vitriol' in the Rakkor."

It wasn't an answer, but it wasn't a lie either.

More laughter floated over from the little party a few yards away. Her glance flicked once again to sun champion who would fit in so much better over there.

Diana reached for her book.

"Isn't it time for you to get back to enjoying your day? I'd like to go back to reading in peace."

She could feel Leona's eyes on her for quite a bit longer than was necessary. Diana flipped to a page.

Finally Leona stood. Her voice drifted down to Diana through her umbrella and hat. "Let me go moonbathing with you sometime. You braved sunburn to come out today; it is only fair for me to brave the moonfrost."

She walked away, toward the raucous laughter.

Diana's chest warmed pleasantly. She pursed her lips and glared down at her book.  
Was that supposed to be a joke? she thought, disbelieving.

She had created a monster.


	2. Moonfrost

Terrestrial adj. 1: of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants, 2: living or growing on land, 3: belonging to a class of planets that are like the earth (as in density and silicate composition)

* * *

Diana waited until their final day at on the Demacian coast. Whatever diplomatic mission they had been sent here for had apparently been accomplished without any action on Diana's part. She supposed the mission had been as much to make the host nation pay to entertain the Institute's champions, so perhaps she had played her part.

She told herself she waited until the last day so she didn't have to engage in any more interactions with her rival than was absolutely necessary. She certainly hadn't been putting it off; such a thing would be beneath her as the moon's chosen.

The ocean shone with a strip of silver under the moonlight, fading to darkest black away from the single line of light. The moon itself was barely a sliver, but no less beautiful for it as it hung low over the dark ribbon of water. Besides a few wispy clouds, the sky was clear and dotted with myriad spots of light. Between the numerous stars, the sky was a subtle ombre of blues and purples and greens.

Diana had never seen anything as beautiful when the sun shone.

Leona stared up in appropriate wonder. She had dressed sensibly for the night air, leaving only her face and hands to be made pale under the moonlight. Her hair and the gold Solari sigils adorning her clothing were stripped of their color, painting her in softer colors than in the garish light of day.

"I can see why you like this time," the sun champion said, voice soft and almost reverent, though Diana likely misheard that last part. "It really is beautiful out here."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "Is this some sort of trick, Solari?"

Tearing her gaze away from the sky, Leona turned to look at Diana with eyes turned black by the moonlight. "Of course not."

Diana searched her face for signs of deception, but could find nothing conclusive. That didn't mean anything; such methods had failed her before, with the same person.

Apparently oblivious of Diana's suspicion, Leona walked a bit further out onto the sand. "Is it because I'm Solari? I don't see why acknowledging the beauty of one thing would take away from the beauty of another."

Leona seemed to be staring at her, Diana noticed, though she did not know what that meant. She didn't want to think about it either, so she joined her rival. The sand, though not making quite as much of a nuisance of itself as it had during under the heat of the sun, still managed to find its way into her boots. She did her best to ignore that too.

Instead, she searched for something to talk about.

"The constellations are different here." She said, staring out into the open sky. The endlessness of the stars stretching out before her had a calming effect, and made her feel more at home despite the uncomfortable setting and company. "I'm well versed on the stars at Mount Targon, and the Institute. Demacia has a number that I've never seen. From what I've gathered over this week, the names are different too."

"Which ones do you recognize? The only one I remember is the Cardinal Light," she pointed to a blue star, low on the horizon.

Diana glanced at her sidelong. "I'm surprised the Solari let you look at anything in the night sky, much less taught you their names."

Her brow furrowed, but she kept her gaze directed upward. "The Solari? No, knowledge of the stars is an early lesson to all Rakkor children. For navigation when off the Mountain." A smile tugged at Leona's lips, but not her eyes. "I have not kept up those studies, and that star is the only one I can still name."

Diana had no response to that. It was easy to think of the Rakkor as a bunch of battle-obsessed barbarians, and to forget Leona had been one of them. Why that was less comforting than thinking of her as Solari she couldn't say.

They stood in silence, the only sound the rush of the waves and the night breeze through the tall grass. Eventually Leona sat, and after a moment Diana did too. The sky seemed even vaster from the sand.

She could feel Leona watching her. After their conversation at that ridiculous beach party Diana dreaded what might come out of her mouth. She had no desire to continue that particular exchange.

That joke, though. Diana bit down on her lip to stop herself from grinning like a fool.

When her silent chuckles finally died down, Leona spoke. "Would you mind showing me the stars you recognize?" She continued hurriedly, "But I realize this isn't the sky you're most familiar with, and -"

"It's fine," Diana cut her off, trying not to be too encouraged by Leona's fumbling. She pointed at the blue star to the north. "I've also seen it called the Blue Star, and the Freljord Star. Beside it is the…"

Diana could do this all night, though she didn't realize she had until the sky above them began to brighten.


End file.
